We try to provide a good training program for you daughter throughout the season and during the offseason. There will be times during the year where they will need to do their own self-training program to get the most out of her sport. Summer training is a must for cross country athletes that want to excel because our first meet of the season is usually less than two weeks after school starts.

During the first couple weeks of training, there are a few areas that may be of concern to you as a parent. Is there anything you can do to help? What can you expect? How can you help prepare your daughter for training, competition, and the everyday rigors of life combined with cross country?

First, as a general rule, don't change your daughter's normal daily routine. Everything should remain the same in terms of responsibilities, appropriate eating, sleeping, and social habits.

Second, be aware that a coommon result of training (especially early on) is muscle soreness. If she doesn't have a long background in running, this muscle soreness may last as long as a couple weeks at the beginning of the training. It is best that she let her coaches know about this so that we can adjust their workout to get a faster recovery. Also, with any sport, there is the risk of a sports related injury. All concerns regarding these should be directed to the coaches, our trainer, or a physician.

Third, a well balanced diet is going to help any athlete in her performance. Any changes that you might want to impliment should be gradual. On competition days, high fat, fried foods, sodas, and highly acidic drinks should be avoided. Distance runners should be drinking about 8 glasses of water a day and on days that are especially hot and humid, even more. We recommend eating a diet that is high in carbohydrates, which is excellent fuel for a cross country runner. We understand that everybody's dietary needs are different, but it is usually better to go into a race on the hungry side (the opposite can lead to cramping).

Fourth, our practices start during sixth period. Your daughter is expected to be dressed and ready to warm up at 2:05PM. Practice usually ends between 4 to 4:30PM and they7 are expected to be at every workout. If your daughter is involved with a club sport, it is not uncommon for there to be time conflicts, but accoring to our school guidelines, the school activity would come first.

Fifth, we ask that if your daughter needs to make a doctor or dental appointment, if it is possible to schedule it near the end of practice. If that is not possible, please let us know ahead of time so that we can give them an alternate workout for her to do on her own.

Lastly, an athlete who misses a practice unexcused will not be allowed to participate in the following meet.